Variable camber airplane wing



Sept. 18, 1945. H. F. LEE

VARIABLE CAMBER AIRPLANE WINGS Filed Aug. 21, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Harry L69 g Attorney Sept. 18, 1945. H F, LEE 2,384,933

VARIABLE GAMBER AIRPLANE WINGS Filed Aug. 21, 1941 2 Sheets-sheet 2 However, other locations Patented Sept. 18,1945 i UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE VARIABLE CAMBEB AIRPLANE WING Harry F. Lee, Grand Junction, Colo.

Application August 21, 1941, SerlalNo. 407,258

s claims. (c1. 2li-44) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. '752) This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1923, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Goverment of the United States of America for governmental purposes Without the payment to me of lany royalty thereon.

This invention relates to airplane wings, and more particularly to means for varying the camber thereof to provide a Yvariable lifting capacity.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a wing of the type lmentioned which is simple to construct, permitting the Wing to be fabricated in two principal sections and completed by connecting the two sections together. Constructing a wing in this manner, namely intwo sections, permits easy access, to the interior of the wing throughout construction operations.

an embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal section through the wins:

Figure 2 is a fragmentary section of the wing taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a part of the wing taken from the line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure i is a section along the line t-i of Figure l; f

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 1 about the hinge point of the two sections illustrating a modication of this invention; and

Figure 6 is a section taken along the line of Figure 5. Y i

Referring with more particularity to Figures 1, 2, 3, and li, in which like numerals designate like parts, the embodiment illustrated comprises main wing sections it and ii,the section ii being forward of the section it and the boundary between the two sections being located generally at the point of greatest thickness of the aeroi'oil. of the boundary may be used to meet any special conditions desired.

The rear section i@ of the wing is built around a framework of ribs it, suitably braced, and a spar or be it at the forward end of the ribs it. The front section ii of the wing is fabricated on a framework of suitably braced ribs it.

The ribs it are hinged to the spar it by means of a knuckle joint designated generally by the numeral it, vertically odset from the anis oi the wing sections, one arm i@ of the knuckle joint being bracketed to the spar it and the other erin il being bracketed to the rib it. The knuckle boit it may be held in place by any suitable means such as a cotter pin it.

section being on the outside.

Rib Il is provided' with a rearwardly extending arm'20 disposed through an aperture 2| of the spar il and terminating within the rear section I0 of the wing. In` proximity to the rearward end of the arm 20, .there is mounted on the rib I2 the housing 2| of a pairl of hydraulic cylinders 22 and 23, each of said cylinders carrying a roller 24 and 25, respectively, adapted to contact an upper flange 2B and a lower flange 21, respectively, of the arm 20, whereby the arm 20 can be actuated up or down by introducing a hydraulic fluid under pressure to the piston 22 or 23, respectively. Hydraulic cables 28 and 29 are provided for this purpose and are connected to any suitable hydraulic control system (not shown) known in the art. The movement of the pistons 22 and 23 should be such as to permit an angular variation between the rear section I0 and the front section il of about three degrees, as indicated in Figure l by the outline of the front section il in broken lines 30. Over the framework of the ribs l2 of the rear section 5 and ribs il of the front section Il, the wing surfaces are applied and preferably comprise sheets of corrugated steel 3i and 32 secured to said ribs i2 and Il, respectively, over which corrugated sheets skin coverings 33 and 3l, respectively, are secured, preferably by spot welding. The covering 33 of the rear section and the covering 34 of the front section overlap at the top and bottom of the wing, the covering il of the forward The covering 33 on the rearward section extends within the forward section Ii of the wing and is provided with an inverted U-loop 35 forming a continuous channel throughout the length voi' the wing, within which is disposed a pad 3B, such as felt or some other suitable padding material, preferably impregnated with a lubricant, such as a mixture of oil and graphite. These pads tt provide an air seal between the two sections of the wing and at the same time lubricate the bearing surfaces between the two coverings 33 and 34. These pads also serve to dampen vibrations between the overlapping portions of the coverings 33 and il.

in order to hold the covering il@ securely against the covering it at the point where they overlap, guides 3l and 38 are secured to the covering it adjacent the ends of the covering M. These guides have projecting fingers 39 and 48, respectively, which. hold the covering 34 in contact with the covering 33 and, at'the same time, permit a relative movement of the coverings within the limits oi' operation of the two sections of the In Figures and 6, a modification of" my invention is illustrated which comprises the use of a hinged joint between the two sections oi the wing which has a lost motion horizontally, wherebyvgne oi` the lap joints between the coverings 33 and 3d, either at the topV oratY the bottom ofthe wing, may be eliminated. The modication comprises substituting a rectangular -opening @i for the circular opening in the arm il oi* the knuckle joint i5= This rectangular opening is adapted to receive a block i2 slidably therein and secured to the bolt it. By these means a degree of horizontal lost motion is eected which makes it necessary to provide only one lap Joint between the two covering sectionsof the wing sections. It is preferable to eliminate the top lap joint, as illustrated. However, either one may be eliminated, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

i. In an airplane wing, a rigid rear section. a rigid front section, a hinge forv pivoting said front section to the forward end of said rear section, said hinge being disposed at a point vertically oset from the longitudinal airis of the wing, said hinge comprising a pair of brackets, one of said brackets having a horizontal slot, a block slidably disposed insaid slot. a shaft secured to said block and rotatably engaged with the 'other bracket, a lever arm integral with the front section extending within the rear section. and means for actuating said arm so as to move said fron-t section about the hinge.

2. An airplane wing comprising a rigid rear section, a rigid front section, a hinge within the wing structure for pivoting said front section to the forward end of the rear section, said sections extending throughout the length of the wing, said hinge comprising a slidable bearing for translation in fore and aft directions, an arm in tegral 'with the front section extending within the rear section, means for actuating said arm so as to move said iront section about the hinge, said sections having each a skin covering, at least one of the ends of the covering of said front section overlapping the corresponding end of the covering of the rear section, guide means for holding the overlapped ends together in slidable relation, and a stripof padding between the overlapped portions of said coverings to dampen vibrations.

3. An airplane wing comprising a rigid rear section, a. rigid front section, a hinge within the wing structure for pivoting said front section to the forward end of the rear section, said sections extending throughout the length of the wing, said hinge comprising a slidable bearing for translation in fore and aft directions, an arm integral with the front section extending within the rear section, means for actuating said arm so as to move said front section about the hinge,

escasas covering of the rear section, guide means for holding the overlapped ends together in'slidable re- Y lation, and a stripV of padding between the overlapped portions of said coverings to dampen vibrations, said padding being impregnated with a lubricant. l

i. An airplane wing comprising a rigid front section, a rigid rear section separate from the front section, said sections extending substantially throughout the length of the wing, a hinge within the wing structure connecting saidfrcnt section to and supporting it on said rear section, said hinge being vertically oilset from the outer surfaces of the wing and having a slidable bearing` for translation in fore and aft directions, means for rotating said iront section relative to the rear section on said hinge and securing said sections in dierent relative positions of rotation, a skin covering on each of said sections, at least one end of the covering of said front section being overlapped on the corresponding end of the covering of the rear section, and a strip ofv padding between said overlapped ends to dampen vibrations.

5. An airplane wing comprising a rigid front section, a rigid rear section separate from the front section, said sections extending substantially throughout the length'of the wing, a hinge within the Wing structure connecting said iront section to and supporting it on said rear section, said hinge being vertically offset from the outer surfaces of the wing and having a slidable bearing for translation in fore and aft directions,

means for rotating said front section relative to' covering of the rear section, and a strip of padding between said overlapped ends to dampen vibrations, said-padding being impregnated with a lubricant. f

6./ An airplanewing comprising a rigid front section. a rigid rear section separate from the front section, said sections extending substantially throughout the length of the wing, a hinge within the wing structure connecting said front section to and supporting it on said rear section, said hinge being vertically odset from the outer surfaces of the wing and having a slidable bearing for translation in fore and aft directions, and means for rotating said front section relative to the rear section on said hinge and securing said sections in diiierent relative positions of rotation.

HARRY F. LEE. 

